Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Celtic

Before Beaune became the center of the wine-business in Burgundy and way before it got a town privilege in 1203, it was a Celtic sanctuary around a mystic spring. The Romans later erected a fort here and after they left a small Chistian community will have lived here, as this sarcophagus with Christian symbols is dated to the end of the 6th century. It was found with more than 300 tombs, when in 1987/88, near the old city walls, a underground parking lot was constructed an so an old necropole got unearthed.

Cahors is situated within a U-shaped bend in the River Lot. There was a celtic settlement here, that developed into a large Roman city. The city was under Visigothic later Merovingian/Frankish influence. The war between Chlothar I sons Chilperic I and Guntram (aka "Saint Guntram) badly affected the economy, but Cahors recovered - before it got burnt down and looted by Saracens, Vikings and Magyars in the 8th and 9th century. When more and more pilgrims flocked on the way to Santiago de Compostela Cahors won importance, as the Via Podiensis run right through the city. It actually still does! There are actually two different routes to Cahors for the pilgrims. They either can follow the valley of the Lot or they choose the "chemin" through the valley of the Cele (what I did some years ago). But there is only one chemin out of Cahors - via the Pont Valentré. The six-span fortified bridge has become a symbol of the city. It was built between 1308 and 1378.

Cahors is situated within a U-shaped bend in the River Lot. There was a celtic settlement here, that developed into a large Roman city. The city was under Visigothic later Merovingian/Frankish influence. The war between Chlothar I sons Chilperic I and Guntram (aka "Saint Guntram) badly affected the economy, but Cahors recovered before it got burnt down and looted by Saracens, Vikings and Magyars in the 8th and 9th century. When more and more pilgrims flocked on the way to Santiago de Compostela Cahors won importance, as the Via Podiensis run right through the city. It actually still does! Pope John XXII, who was born in Cahors, founded a university here in 1332, that later became a part of the University of Toulouse.